Decluttering one thing a day part 10 - the countdown to a clutter free Christmas

[StealthNinjaMum]

It’s the 10th thread and we’re still here!

We’re a group of mumsnetters who aim to get rid of one thing a day to develop good habits and gradually declutter our lives.

Newbies are welcome, those of us who’ve been here for some time have all seen dramatic improvements in our homes, the way we organise ourselves and even mental health. So if you’re new just check in and update with your progress and join in the general chat about recycling, housework and ways to be organised.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3711883-Decluttering-one-thing-a-day-Part-9?pg=1

I took back an unwanted (it didn't fit) Christmas present today and got the cash so I can think about what to get instead. I also managed to get my large kitchen gadget to an electrical charity shop. It went in a bag4life too so that's 3 things out today. It would have been 4 but I missed the Post Office.

I know I've counted the gadget already but I like to encourage myself.

@Clettercletterthatsbetter - I experience this sometimes and I've also been decluttering for years. When it happens to me, I think it's because I just need to put things away. All my cupboards are tidy and organised and even quite spacious in places, but none of this shows! Could this be it?

I sorted through a box of toys DS no longer wanted and binned 43 plastic or broken happy meal/free from magazine toys that are not in a fit state to go to the charity shop. I also returned 3 items to my mum which I am counting because normally borrowed things stay in our house for an embarrassingly long time. Also done a tip run to get rid of the large cardboard and some of the things in the garage that came out of the loft. We'll need to go again to get rid of the rest but there was a huge queue today so decided against a second trip!

I think I am now up to 67/2020.

Cletter - Could it be a systems issue? (I know that sounds funny.) Eg. Would it help to look into having named boxes for the stairs and/or laundry?

Thanks for the tips everyone! I think with laundry is just the fact that we have so much! It does go in a laundry basket but then when it’s sorted for the wash I end up with piles on the kitchen floor until they’re done. And I always seem to have at least one basket of clean stuff that needs to be folded and put away - an occupational hazard of owning toddlers!
I got DH to take a load of stuff to the garage this afternoon to add the to charity/tip piles. I think I need to find a box to corral all the bits I’ve listed for sale so they’re not floating about so much...

When we moved we brought all our cd’s and DVD’s...still in the cupboard and virtually unwatched/listened to. However I don’t really want to re-buy on the cloud (amazon etc) and also worry that those services might go up in smoke and loss everything. What are you all doing about this? We will move again at some point and I might get some stick about them 😉. Ditto a box of comfort reading trashy novels (hoping one day for lots and lots of built in bookshelves in a room in a new house which can house all sorts of books, rather than the few nice ones on the sitting room shelves). Thanks!

5 items to textile recycling, 3 belts to charity shop, and 5 items into bin. I'm only counting stuff that I don't expect to be replaced. Working FT, I'll never manage 40 items/week, but 13 for the first Saturday of 2020 is good.

chaos all our dvds are in a folder. one for kids/family friendly films and one for grown up films. each one holds 512 dvds got them from Amazon.

I sorted out the airing cupboard! 37 things GONE. Duvets pillows pillow covers bed sheets towels. All taken to charity.

Also took the Christmas tree to the tip alongside about 30 coat hangers that are surplus to requirements.

Soo guess that makes it 68/2020 all in one hit!!!

I have some EMPTY drawers!!!

Gave away four large toys nobody played with to the charity shop this morning. Even got the kids involved. Then filled a charity bag with yet more unwanted/ too small clothes and left outside for Monday's collection. Would have waited but i know i'll forget if i don't put them out straight away!

Tomorrow i'm going to call the British Heart Foundation and see if they'll take an old rocking chair, and the council to collect a fusty old sofabed.

chaos one of my long term project ideas is to buy a server to store my DVDs. A friend did it and it cost a couple of hundred pounds but i’m sure the technology is cheaper now. I have a bookcase with dcs DVDs and a couple of shelves of mine (although I have probably got rid of about a third of our DVDs now and a large amount of vhs videos) but i’d love to just put them in the loft and get rid of a whole bookcase.

Final tally for today is 76/2020, including a pair of trousers which are part of an Indian suit DP bought for a wedding ten years ago and has, surprise surprise, never worn since. To my amazement he was the one to suggest binning them (I have wanted to sneakily chuck them for ages but thought he might notice) so perhaps the decluttering spirit is motivating him a bit too.

@SydneyCarton it’s so good when the other half gets on board, isn’t it? I was decluttering CDs yesterday and proposed to DH we got rid of a few - he shocked me by suggesting we charity shop the lot! He doesn’t have a lot of stuff but he has more of a sentimental attachment to things than I do!

21 more things have gone out today, so that brings my total up to 162/2020.

I don’t think tomorrow will be quite as productive as the only planned outs will be immediately replaced (DD needs new tights).

Three away an old bib of ds’. I accidentally washed it on a hot wash and it sort of got twisted up and ripped. So no good.

Also this evening have binned some tulips I had on the table. They had started to die so off they went.

Stealth, chaos we have a server that DH is meant to be copying the DVDs and CDs onto, but he seems to have stalled. I intend to put photos in there too, in the fullness of time. I'm not too bothered about DVDs, I watch Muppets' Christmas Carol once a year and that's it, but there's some music I'd be really bothered to lose if Spotify went pop. It seems to be the case that legally, you only buy access to music / films / kindle books, so hard copies of comfort items seems very reasonable. (Note: I am parting with my vinyl for no one. Is that clear?).

Cletter, I think sand is right, your laundry / piles problem is a systems issue. I never sort laundry because we have a light basket, a dark basket and a red basket. When one is full, I put a wash on. Might that get piles off the floor?

Nothing else has got done today, even cooking tea, because DH has been in charge. Hey ho.

I have sorted the rest of exes clothes and shoes and have put them all in a cabinet that will eventually go. I now don't have to look at them when I open my wardrobe anymore!
More outs too, a carrier bag of dd1s old college notes, 3 pairs of shoes, 4 old empty hand cream bottles and about 60 mixed items of clothes, toys and old broken stationery.

395/2020

Please convince me to get rid of two more old cardigans. They are old and worn but I loved them and can't let go!

Bluewaves sometimes for things like this I try the ConMarie method- thank it for the good times and enjoyment you've had for wearing them, acknowledge they won't get worn again and get rid of.

Christmas tree decluttered, decorations all in the loft. A couple of boxes of next size baby clothes down. We have spaaaace in the lounge!

I haven't got rid of anything today - but I have sorted out half a dozen dresses. I was going to Ebay them but I'm sure I won't get very much for them.

I know if I can lose a stone and a half (which I really should do for health reasons) they will all fit and I will get lots of wear out of them.

So I think I'm going to put them to one side and if I haven't lost the weight in 4 months time then I will Ebay them.

Hi newbies! Rufflecrow I haven't been on the thread that long but definitely think more about bringing things into the house, whether they are practical, will they be used everyday, so we really need another item, makes me think more and it's rubbing off on family members too. ILS decided to just give gift cards this year (Christmas) - that's a breakthrough in itself! And we gave consumables instead of stuff at Christmas.

I really am wanting to be more minimalist but think it will be my own version of that. I don't want to live in a house thats empty, I want to feel like a welcoming home, but not cramped and crowded.

Peanut I would start in the house. Figure out where needs the most work and start on that, or look at what needs the least clearing out so you have an area that you can look to for inspiration (whichever would work best for you), or alternatively, you can work on the baby's room so you feel more ready for their entrance. Congratulations btw! A new baby is so exciting - for other people! (I'm done having my own kids lol) but it's always exciting to know other people are growing their families

Today's outs are what was already sorted out, SIL took everything but 1 item I set aside for her. I will put the other own in my vehicle to take to charity shop, along with everything else I have sorted out to go. I just haven't had a chance to go over there yet while accepting donations. I plan to go through more stuff tomorrow (Sunday, it's 12:30am here) and add to the pile already leaving .

Bunkerlife welcome! I would have a deadline for when you want things gone thats not yours. Have them collect what's theirs or tell them you will class their things as abandoned and you can do what you what with them. Have a realistic deadline and a plan in place so you can get your space back. I think that would be a big pet peeve of mine - having to use my space for other people's stuff, I really couldn't do it. My kids aren't out of the house yet though so I can't say if I'll feel the same way in a few years once they start to move out.

@HungryHazelEyes I’m not sure if I’m excited or scared!!